Author Archives: laroyceblog

Brothers and sisters it’s been a difficult time along my journey recently. I won’t burden you with my struggles because I know and understand we all have struggles, pitfalls and obstacles that line our paths. So, my thoughts for penning this morning is not to add to what you may be struggling with, but to, hopefully, encourage you by sharing the light which the Father is shining on me today.

I allowed a feeling of unworthiness to enter my spirit that discouraged me. I, for a brief moment, bought into what others say about me and who they think I should be. In other words, I climbed into their box of limits and boundaries and just sat there, enclosed and stifled, waddling in their environment, chained to their labeled corner they had allocated for me.

But, while I was there, I was blessed with a flashback of a sermon by Dr. Jeremiah Wright. He delivered this sermon a few years ago at our church service here in Dallas, TX. (I thank the Father for allowing this sermon to penetrate my spirit, so much so, that I was able to recall it when I most needed it.)

Dr. Wright painted this picture so vividly in my mind, that I can see it as if I am a part of it. He told us, whenever you get discouraged (and it will happen to all who chooses to walk with the Father), just envision yourself in a race against time, your enemies and yourself. Yes, you are tired and you want to give up…but, just look up and listen. In the stands of this coliseum are your cheerleaders, encouraging you not to give up, but to keep on going. What a beautiful vision.

So, while I was in this discouraging place along my path. I called on my cheerleaders, the ones who have passed this life, but their spirits live in me. I can hear my earthly mother and father cheering me on, saying, “there goes my daughter, I’m so proud of you…keep on going baby”.

I can hear my heroes, Maya Angelou, Dr. King, Malcolm, James Baldwin, Harriett Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Marcus Garvey saying to me, “no one said the work would be easy, but, it is necessary….keep on going”.

I can hear the thousands of nameless brothers and sisters who sacrificed their bodies and laid their dignity on the line for my right to equality, encouraging me saying, “it’s your turn now to carry the baton….you can do it…keep on going”.

Mostly, I can hear my Father, Creator of the Universe, saying, “I’m right here with you and I’m proud of you…daughter, get up there’s work to do…keep on going”.

So, knowing and believing I’m not alone in this journey; I’m up and back in the race against time, my enemies and me; unchained, unboxed, unbought…free.

If you find yourself in need of encouragement this day, I hope you can envision your own coliseum, with your own cheerleaders, cheering you on to stand and get back in the race.

I would like to leave you with my poem of encouragement, “Free to Rise Up”.

I am very grateful this morning. Today, April 27, 2015, America will make history by swearing in the first African-American woman as the United State Attorney General. Loretta Lynch was confirmed by the Senate on Friday, April 24, 2015.

I have no doubt, as with many others, that Ms. Lynch will take on the task of upholding justice for all Americans. Although, the challenges she faces are great, she will stand firm in her appointed position to ensure our hope for a better America.

I am truly grateful in knowing that we stood up with our power of democracy to demand a confirmation vote. So, I thank you all, who were encouraged enough to utilize your voice by contacting your representatives in the Senate. I also thank those of you who sacrificed gratifying your need to nourish your bodies for the sake of bringing awareness to our cause of justice on the behalf of Ms. Lynch. We all know the flesh is powerful, so my hat goes off to you for your great sacrifice.

We all know the importance of having a voice for the people in the position of the U.S. Attorney General, and for the office of president. However, as important as those positions are, and moreover, the importance of having the right representative in those positions, it is far more important that we get involved on the local level of politics. All politics are local. Recently, we’ve had an example of how important local politics are. The injustice that happened in Ferguson, Missouri has brought light to the need of having a voice in decision making positions. It took tragedy to bring about change. Now through the voices of the citizens of Ferguson, they have a more diverse city council; a city council that looks more like the people who live in the community, and can speak for the people.

Today, early voting has started for local elections. In some counties we will be voting for mayor, city council, and school board candidates. These elections affect our everyday lives, and the futures for our children. It is vitally important that we, as parents and citizens, stand up for our children, our communities, and our future. We need to know, and most certainly, we must have a voice in who makes crucial decisions for our children’s education. We need to be able to trust that our elected school board officials want the same for our children as we do. We need to ensure that our representatives will stand up for our children when they are deciding the budget and allocating funds. It is imperative for our representatives to have every child’s best interest at heart, and to not be afraid to advocate on their behalf, when decisions are being made regarding their futures. If you are a parent, you have NO excuse for not voting in this election. The love you hold for your child should cause you to run to cast your vote.

The expression, “America the Beautiful”, imitates a very abstract, and most certainly, an obscure vision of what our America portrays herself to be. Abstractly, we are pompous enough to believe that we are perceived by the rest of the world as a society of freedom for all; a society of equal opportunity; a society of equal pay for equal work; a society that welcomes immigrants with open arms; a society of freedom of religion; a society that has grown from the horrors of racial oppression; a society that loves its Country and loves their fellow man. These abstract points are presumed to form the “outline” of our beautifully perceived Country, the United States of America.

Yet, many of us live on the surface of the intentional dirty, cloudy lens with our sight obscured by the promise of the American Dream. Chasing dreams of hopes to be able to provide for our families; a hope of being treated fairly in the workplace; a hope of being able to crash through the deliberate corporate glass ceiling; a hope of equal educational opportunities for our children; while being caught up in a structure of obstruction designed to keep the hustlers hustling, the dreamers dreaming, and the players playing. Therefore, our obscurity of hopes for a just society seemingly becomes cloudier as the abstract outline that America has built its dream upon becomes fainter.

“America is like a beautiful, ornate mansion with pristine gardens and well manicured lawns on the outside, however, once you enter through the front door, the stench of the filth that lurks within arrests the human senses like that of a powerful and intoxicating gas, and can render one unconscious; and once you’ve awakened you find that you are enslaved within the walls of an ominous and sinister dungeon; shackled by Capitalistic greed and chained with link, after link, after link of social injustice that leads to dehumanization.” La Royce

My question becomes, will it ever end?, the destruction, the obstruction, the unbalanced power and wealth that seems to teeter on the side of the 1%, as we intoxicatingly look onto as an intense, combustible train wreck awaiting its destiny. Which brings me to the uneasy and ever burdened thought of, how much longer will we sit back and allow the lines of our great county to be scrubbed away until the faintness inevitably disappears to invisible ink stained boundaries?

When does enough actually becomes enough? When does being sick and tired really make you sick of your given circumstances, and tired of pedaling in the cycle of injustice?

My thoughts for penning this morning came about due to the ridiculousness of yet moving forward with a vote to confirm Loretta Lynch as the next U.S. Attorney General. Ms Lynch’s proven record of relentlessly standing on the side of justice, more than qualifies her, and she exudes all capability to stand as the leader in this position. Her education, tenacity and passion caused President Obama to nominate her over 5 months ago. Yet, she has not had the basic decency from our elected law makers to be honored with a confirmation vote. Why?.. She has bipartisan support to be confirmed. So, why?

It’s the stench of the filth that lurks within. It’s the link of the chain that bears the power of injustice towards women. It’s the link of the chain still struggling to hold on to racial oppression. Loretta Lynch would be the first African-American woman to hold the position. She would also be an outstanding Attorney General because of hers gifts of knowledge of our law, and moreover, her passion to uphold the laws of our land. I believe, when fairly, given the opportunity to serve, she will serve at her very best. Again, her record proves it. She will fight to loosen the chains of injustice that America bears.

Loretta Lynch, if you will, is a pawn that will protect her queen (justice), at all costs. Since we are faced with this injustice of her confirmation vote, we need to get in the game. We need to play our role to accomplish justice. Our role is to contact your elected officials of our great Senate and DEMAND a confirmation vote for #Loretta Lynch. Many forget this is our country, every American! We forget that our role does not end when we vote. Until we harness tenacity, and are willing to stand in our struggle against injustice, we will remain enslaved in an ominous dungeon, and the links of the chain will become an eroding rust-stained reminder of our lack of willingness to stand for justice.

America can be beautiful when we stand for justice for all. The obstruction and destruction can end when we hold our elected officials responsible for their actions, or lack thereof. Aren’t you sick of being labeled, and tired of spinning in the same cycle of injustice? It’s time to stand! Let’s break this link of the oppressive chain, stand with and for Loretta Lynch. Write, call, email, sign petitions, or tweet your representative in the Senate to DEMAND a confirmation vote for #Loretta Lynch to be our next Attorney General.

Through many conversations, I’ve learned that many of us are, either, blinded by the lies of mass incarceration, or we have turned a blind eye to our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by mass incarceration. (Which in turn, all of us are enslaved by mass incarceration).

Let me pose the question, how many of you think because you are a law abiding citizen, who purposely avoids breaking our laws of the land, who is an alert citizen involved in a citizen crime watch; how many of you believe that this problem of mass incarceration will not affect you because of your good behavior?

How many of you believe mass incarceration is a business of buying and selling commodities on the public stock exchange? How many of you know that you are able to legally participate in the trading of “flesh” stock?

How many of you understand that the media purposely flaunts Black and Brown skinned bodies before their cameras and highlight certain stories on their broadcasts of “crimes” ,supposedly, committed by Black and Brown skinned bodies to precondition the public’s mind to fear them?

How many of you know that the people with power; judges, lawyers, police officers, county and city officials, and your government; all participate in the business of mass incarceration?

Brothers and sisters, I pose these questions to you for two reasons; 1) to, hopefully, bring awareness to this inhuman issue; and 2) once your awareness has been piqued, what will you do to assist in ending mass incarceration?

I have many theories as to why this evilness of mass incarceration exists in our society today. I believe it is a present form of enslavement to contain and control the lives of the Black/Brown brothers and sisters. What do I mean by “contain and control”? Firstly, I want to point out that our Black and Brown brothers and sisters are incarcerated at ridiculously higher rates than that of white people for committing identical crimes. This is due to the white person’s privilege of finances (used to buy freedom), their privilege of “who” they know in the criminal justice system, and, mostly, due to their white skin (which is instilled into Americans {consciously or unconsciously} not to fear).

I believe the reasons for which we are contained, as a people, is to control our behavior which is feared due to the ignorance of our cultural differences, to control our economic opportunities, and to control our population. Because we are misunderstood, we are feared. We are feared because we have been stigmatized. And this is generations of stigmatism that has been instilled into every American due to white supremacy racism. We are taught from toddlers that “black” is related to everything bad and “white” is everything good and pure. It is a part of our American fabric, entwined down to the very intricacies of every fiber of woven thread. So, until we choose to love one another as ourselves, this stained and soiled fabric will always cover us to keep us falsely protected from the cold we are so afraid to stand up against. Just as Adam and Eve were shamed when they committed sin and covered up with fig leaves, our shame is blanketed with the fabric of sin that we, as Americans, have created.

We (Black and Brown skinned) are economically controlled by mass incarceration. When a parent is incarcerated their child suffers. The child is not afforded the opportunities as their peers. So, a cycle is created. The oppressor’s hope is that the child will follow the same path as the parent. Our community suffers economically because we lack in building and producing to our full potential. Therefore, we must go outside of our community to supply ourselves with what we need to survive because “our” suppliers, our builders, our nurturers, our teachers, our mothers, our men, our role models, our knowledge, our wisdom, etc. are locked up away from us to purposely and intentionally destroy our community and to keep us economically enslaved.

Many do not want to hear, and certainly, do not want to accept my next theory on mass incarceration. Population control of our Black and Brown skinned people must be contained and controlled by the mind of white supremacy racism. When our brothers are incarcerated they are given sentences that are unfair and are meant to keep them incarcerated during their prime years of procreation. Also, our brothers may be incarcerated for a petty misdemeanor; however, when they are locked up, they are placed in a hostile environment. Then violations and crimes ensue to survive, which lengthens their original sentence. There is a reason why police officers’ presences on our children’s campuses are so prevalent. First, it is to instill the fear of knowing that they are always being watched. Secondly, it is to create a mindset of normality, to have them think it is normal to be in the presence of guards with guns. So that when they are incarcerated later in their lives, guards should (by then) be normal to them, to tell them when to awake, when to go to sleep, when to eat, and when they are allowed to socialize. They are there to establish control in order to contain them as our children mature. Because when they mature, they are meant to become a part of the system of mass incarceration in order to be contained, controlled and used as commodities all for the sake of white supremacy racism.

You may be thinking, if you stay out of trouble and don’t break any laws then what do you have to be concerned with? My answer is, you must be concerned with the system of mass incarceration. I mentioned earlier about stock trading. It is a fact that business proposals are done daily to build prisons. It is proposed to nearly every city and town throughout America to build a prison. The business person goes before the local government to propose building prisons to create jobs; jobs for prison guards, jobs for construction workers, jobs for vendors, jobs for food suppliers, jobs for uniform providers, jobs for all who want to take a turn at “cracking the whip” on inmates created by the system. The local government gives ear to these proposals because, after all, they were elected to create jobs, maintain the budget and help the area grow. So, they vote to erect a prison in their town.

Now the problem to fill the prisons presents itself. Well, it really isn’t a problem at all because, 1) our children have already been conditioned and groomed, 2) fear has been established by the media outlets, and 3) America’s fabric has become more stained. Fear is then locked up, exchanged as commodities, and traded.

What will you do to break this link of Mass Incarceration from the oppressor’s chain? Will you vote so that your voice can be heard? Will you vote for candidates who share in ending mass incarceration? Will you begin to view our so-called “criminals” with love instead of fear? Will you begin to attend school board meetings to make changes for your child’s learning environment? Will you counsel with your brother or sister who has a drug problem instead of assist the police in arresting them? Will you visit your brother or sister in prison to tell them that you love them and you have their back when they return home because our community needs them? Will you organize your community and educate our brothers and sisters to the system of mass incarceration? Will you love your brothers and sisters as yourself and stand in this struggle?

Lately, in very subtle ways, I’ve been challenged to engage in conversation concerning the “link(s)” of the chain of oppression as I often refer to in my writings. Some have stressed to me (consciously or unconsciously) that times have changed, and that somehow- and for some odd reason I choose to live in the past of being enslaved; that we (Black people) have encountered and conquered many feats set before us; that we have more opportunity now than any in our past, if we choose to take advantage of it.

And my, subtle, answer simply would be, yes, times have changed, we have gained victory in many battles, and, yes, we now have more opportunity…on the surface.

However, if we delve beneath the surface of the dirty, cloudy lens in which they want you to view your world from, you will find; that (consciously or unconsciously) times have not changed; that I am living in the present, not past, enslavement; that we (Black people of our past) have encountered and conquered many feats set before us; that some of us have more opportunity, and the majority of us are still being taken advantage of.

These challenges that I find myself encountering, nearly daily, has prompted me to start a series of writings on the “Links: Breaking the Chain”.

As part of this introduction, I would like to leave you with my poem, “Thoughts”.

I would ask (especially Black Americans) to ponder on the time line, the events which have taken place, and the education meant for you. Then I would ask if you would weigh then and now, and truly ponder on the difference in our mindset as a people.

America is like a beautiful, ornate mansion with pristine gardens and well manicured lawns on the outside, however, once you enter through the front door, the stench of the filth that lurks within arrests the human senses like that of a powerful and intoxicating gas, and can render one unconscious; and once you’ve awakened you find that you are enslaved within the walls of an ominous and sinister dungeon; shackled by Capitalistic greed and chained with link, after link, after link of social injustice that leads to dehumanization.” La Royce

“America the Beautiful”, doesn’t sound so beautiful anymore, does it? Whether you choose to agree with the above statement or not, unfortunately, it has become our reality. This is, “The House WE Live In”, all of us, save for a small percentage that viciously hold grip to the magical key that opens the door of liberation to a just society for all. Please make sure you are grasping what I am saying when I state, “a small percentage that hold the key to the door of a just society for all”; notice I did not say that they hold the key to our shackles and chains. We’ll ponder this later; right now let’s discuss the small percentage of the American population who are purposely in the business of handling human lives for their monetary greed.

Monetary greed of money changers: the business of buying and selling human lives for one’s own profits…this takes my mind to the movie Django: Unchained; the dinner scene, in particular, where they were discussing (or having a business dinner, if you will) the transaction of Mandingo wrestlers. The fascinating point of discussion for me came when Massa was explaining his perverted synopsis of why he believed people of African descent weren’t able to think, reason, and/or comprehend as those who were “privileged” to live in the comforts of Caucasian skin. As ignorant as his biological explanation was, he did pose a question that we need to argue. He stated that while he was growing up, as the prince, on his immaculate plantation, seeing nothing but black faces, everyday of his life, and how these black faces were mistreated day in and day out; he could never understand, “Why the black faces wouldn’t rise up and overtake Candy Land and kill all of the oppressors?”. Was the answer to this question fear? Fear of being whipped, sold, mutilated, castrated, burned, lynched, drug by horses, fed to dogs and whatever other wicked and degrading punishment those in power could conger up in their sick, demonic minds. Or was it really due to the enslaved developing a slave mentality because of the structure that they were forced to conform to for many generations?

It’s very sad, but even today in the year of 2015, after over a century and a half of the abolishment of slavery, the same question remains; “Why the oppressed won’t rise up against the oppressors?”

Even as we examine the Civil Rights era; there were many of our brothers and sisters that chose to just go along with the program of being dehumanized and not making a ruckus, and just going about minding their own business of staying on their side of town, using their water fountains and public restrooms, riding on the back of the bus, entering through the back door of business establishments while being expected to pay the same or more for the necessities of everyday living. I pose the same question; why did we, as a people, conform to the unjust Jim Crow laws? Was the answer to this question fear? Fear of being spit on, beaten, drug by cars, shot, lynched, decapitated, homes burned down, churches burned down, bombed and whatever other wicked and degrading punishment those in power would come up with in their sick and demonic minds. Or was it the mentality of returning to a slaves’ existence, due to the structure that they were forced to conform to for many decades? {Along with some remnants of wounds that hadn’t healed, and had even become infected, from the previous generations’ enslavement?}.

It’s very heartbreaking, that even today in the year 2015, after nearly five decades of the abolishment of Jim Crow laws, the same question remains; “Why the oppressed won’t rise up against the oppressors?”

Now let’s look at the evil and wicked social injustice of today’s issue known as Mass Incarceration that Eugene Jarecki so bravely brings awareness to in his film, “The House I Live In”. In my opinion, this is the present day form of enslavement of our people, while a small percentage of those in power continue to purposely buy and sell human lives for their monetary gain. The difference is it’s not as blatant and obvious on the surface as the previous two forms of enslavement that we’ve endured. Yet, one can argue that it is silently killing us as a people, and we could very well end up with a multitude of casualties; more so than the previous two enslavements combined, if we do not immediately take a stand against this issue of Mass Incarceration.

As we know, not all of our people, conformed to the unjust laws of Pre Civil War Slavery and the Jim Crow era, this is why today we are so very blessed to enjoy the harvest of their very intense labor. There were some such as Harriett Tubman, Frederick Douglass and the brave brothers who fought in the Civil War; as well as, Rosa Parks, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and countless other brothers and sisters that stood brave and fought, boycotted and marched to get laws changed for the betterment of our people; and I am so very grateful to our Father for empowering these leaders with courage to stand at their designated times.

So, from our history and the lessons learned from the previous demons that we faced, there is hope of conquering this demon of Mass Incarceration, and hopefully of annihilating once and for all the slave mentality that keeps lurking its ugly head amongst our people. But, in order to conquer, we must first get in the battle to fight; and in order to battle, we must have a workable strategy; and in order to work our strategy, we must have a structure of leadership; and in order to have leaders, we must have followers. In other words, no one can handle this alone; we must put aside our differences and come together, as a people, to save our people. Again, I will repeat, we must work together and we all have a job to do. My brothers and sisters, let me make it very clear, this is a life or death issue for our people, so again, each and every one of us has a job to do, meaning those of us who don’t like to get involved, and don’t like to make a ruckus and just go along with, and accept whatever is thrown our way; it’s time out for that nonsense. When you sit back and do nothing, you are just as guilty as the oppressors. I call this “paving the way to hell”!

We’ve learned that for things to get better, ultimately, we must fight to have our current laws changed. This is where our structure of leadership must stand and guide us. If we need to march, then our leaders need to organize; if we need to sign petitions, then our leaders need to make sure signatures are gathered; if we need to vote on specific laws and specific candidates that will aide in our struggle against injustice, our leaders need to make sure we are informed. Leaders we need you to stand up and lead by organization, information and awareness, and, if necessary, mass meetings. It’s absolutely amazing to me that we have leaders that organize, delegate and get the word out about concerts, and new clubs on the scene, and party cruises, and annual music festivals; but when it comes to something as important as saving our people, some of our leaders turn a blind eye. Turning a blind eye to our issues of a broken people makes you just as guilty as the oppressor. I call this “paving the way to hell”!

My mother used to say to me when I was growing up, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”. I use to wrestle with this “old wives tale” because I thought it meant she desired our home to be cleaned at all times because God didn’t like filth. Well as I’ve ripened, I’ve come to understand that it means exactly that, God does not like filth! So guess what, we need to get to the business of getting, “The House WE Live In” cleaned up and presentable in the sight of our Heavenly Father. Also, as I was becoming a young woman and learning the art of wearing make-up, my mother would say, “Baby, make-up should enhance your God given beauty, and never be worn to hide who you really are, it’s not a mask”. As I ponder back over these life lessons, they can both be applied to our issue at hand. Yes, we must get our house cleaned up and in order, and we must cease hiding behind the mask of society’s make-up. We have to change our mindset, as a people, and come to the understanding that we have the power to loosen our chains and remove society’s blindfold. Yes, we as a people hold the key to freeing ourselves from the shackles and chains that we find ourselves presently locked up in from being hoaxed into the deception that feeds into Mass Incarceration. As my pastor, the Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes, III, always reminds us of, “We have wings, but we are refusing to fly”. Brothers and sisters it is so time that we become liberated in our minds by removing society’s blindfold, so that we can get our house clean and save our people from the destruction of Mass Incarceration.

“So every bondman in his own hand bears the power to cancel his captivity.” – Shakespeare

Please do not misunderstand me, I recognize more than anyone, that we live amongst, and are hindered by the “small percentage” of Americans that lustfully desire to keep us locked behind the trapped door of a society of injustice, so that they can continue to be the money changers profiting from their evilness and wickedness of monetary greed. However, we as a people can limit their power by becoming more aware, by voting in every election, by not evading jury duty, by following our leadership that has our best interests at hand, by standing up and understanding that this is our problem that we all face together and we all have a part to do; and mostly by cleaning up your area of, “The House WE Live In”!

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the support I’ve received from over 24 Countries. I thank each and every one of you, brothers and sisters, for your encouragement and kind words. The beautiful, uplifting comments have further encouraged me to continue to lift my voice on issues of Human Rights, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, and the needs of our children.

I apologize that I have not had the opportunity to respond to, or even post, the many comments that you’ve all been so kind to share. Please know that I certainly read them, ponder and pray over them.

Many of you have requested my email address to elaborate more on a personal level regarding my posts. You are more than welcomed to send mail to laroyce9277@gmail.com.

I will begin to post again soon. However, at this time I am in a season of reading, studying, being still, and listening in order to speak truth to power in my penned words, at His assigned time.

We must remember:

“You aren’t able to teach truth until you study truth. You aren’t able speak truth until you hear truth. Therefore, you aren’t able to stand on truth until it stands up in you.” –La Royce

As I reflect on this time that has been allotted us to celebrate African-American History, my spirit is unsettled. On one hand, I celebrate the accomplishments of every Black American who has contributed their time, sacrificed their families, battled against blatant racism, classism and elitism to bring forth into existence, as well as to sustain, this beautiful country that we call the United States of America. As I observe all the man-made structures, journey along the roads, listen to music, absorb incredible art, enjoy succulent meals, rejoice from all the lives saved of medical miracles, enjoy the competiveness of sport, surf on my computer, use my cellular phone, and benefit from scientific and technological discoveries, I brim with pride knowing that my brothers and sisters whom share my hue had a hand in all of it. And knowing still, regardless of the impedance set forth from the hatred and ignorance of the oppressor, the spirit of my ancestors prevailed. That spirit is what I celebrate.

Yet, as I ponder the kidnapping and enslavement of my African ancestors; our African history and culture stripped from us, our families separated, our queens raped, our kings dehumanized, our children imprisoned; I weep. I weep because I’m taught to believe through the hoaxing of my birth country, America, that these facts that I speak of are the beginning of my history. I’m labeled fearful enough and naive enough to believe in all they tell me I should. I’m to believe that every other race, ethnicity and culture that melted into this mixed up pot, has a history that can be truthfully traced; yet, my twisted and turned upside down, inside out African and American history has to be spoon fed, in tiny bits of poisoned-ladened, entangled lies.

Lies in which I and the rest of the world are to believe. However, I do not and will not accept lies. I am truth, and seek to share with all others this truth of my history. I am born of kings, birthed by queens. My blood of African royalty was shipped here on slave ships. Across the oceans, my ancestors’ wisdom, knowledge and compassion journeyed. And in our hearts and souls, brothers and sisters, our ancestors’ dwell. This is why we had the knowledge and intelligence to erect and create. This is why we had the audacity to survive the oppressor’s horrific brutality. This is why we have the courage to continue to stand and fight in the struggle that we are still faced with today. Yes, indeed, my spirit is unsettled.

Therefore, I cannot, nor will I settle for injustice, untruths, inequality, or being labeled as a second-class citizen. Because it’s just not in my spirit! I enjoy the fruits of our ancestor’s labor, and I carry on in their spirit of knowledge, wisdom and compassion so that future generations can continue to celebrate our African-American History in the spirit of our ancestors.

Due to the insatiable greed that dominates the breathing pattern of this very bankrupt county, sadly, we have to make a ruckus when it comes to fairness and dignity that would afford our marginalized brothers and sisters a better life. Let me explain my thoughts; as strong as America appears to be with the mighty dollar that it flaunts so arrogantly to the rest of the world, at home, America remains weak due to the ever increasing creases of its torn and tattered “god” in which it trusts, the mighty-less dollar. America’s perpetual worship of the dollar has bred greed that seemingly can never be satisfied. Therefore, the rich get richer by in-taking everything of value from the poor. As, the poor get poorer by giving everything of value that they have in order to survive. Hence, the breathing pattern, which attributes to the bankruptcy (suffocating) of this country. And due to the normality of this cycle, somebody has to stand tumultuously on behalf of the marginalized to advocate fairness and dignity.

As with many Activists for human rights, I have chosen to stand and allow the Father to use me as His vessel to bring light into the darkness of America’s oppressive nature. I ask for your prayers of strength and courage as I move along His guided path. However, I am sharing my thoughts today because, unfortunately, I’ve crossed the path of some who claim to stand for right for our brothers and sisters, but it has been revealed that they are only concerned with, “what’s in it for them”. This saddens my heart because they are masking themselves with righteousness, while breeding their own “little America” by using their position or status to continue to take from the poor. These are the type of people that can be bought by the affluent, if the price is right. So, I also solicit your prayers on their behalf, that our Father may deliver them from greed, as He protects our vulnerable brothers and sisters whom they are entrapping with falsehoods. But, with that said, I do want to answer their concern of, “what’s in it for them.”

Foremost, it has been greatly commanded by our Savoir that we are to love our brothers and sisters as we love ourselves. When we stand for right and stand against injustice, we are displaying the love of Christ and we are advocating our love for our brothers and sisters. When anyone is abused, or misused by the system of oppression, we are all being misused and abused. Somewhere along the way we have allowed evil to come in and confuse us as a people, we’ve allowed the Evil One to obscure our sight by binding us with selfishness and self-centeredness. We must repent as a people and ask the Father to deliver us from our blindness, and to open our eyes to see the suffering of our people. When we are able to look beyond ourselves, and love beyond ourselves, then we are obeying His commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.

So, the answer to thei concern of, “what’s in it for them?” is quite simple; it’s the difference between obedience and sacrifice. King Saul thought it was best to be selfish in keeping the best cattle for himself and to offer a burnt sacrifice to the Father (masking himself with righteousness), instead of being obedient to the Father and His Word. He then learned how the Father was not pleased with his disobedience. We have been commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves, but as a people we have chosen to fall into selfishness and to sacrificially turn a blind eye to the abuse and misuse of our brothers and sisters, instead of obeying His commandment. Our Father is not pleased with our disobedience. I pray that we repent and learn to choose obedience over sacrifice.